PG&E Achieves Major Renewable Energy Milestone

February 28,2016-

PG&E, one of the cleanest utilities in the nation, announced today (Feb. 25) that the renewable energy it delivers to its customers has reached nearly 30 percent.
California and PG&E continue to set the pace as national leaders in clean energy and greenhouse gas reductions. State goals called for an average of 23.3 percent Renewables Portfolio Standard between 2014 and 2016. PG&E far surpassed that target, serving 29.5 percent of its retail electricity sales with renewable power in 2015. Additionally, PG&E is well ahead of schedule in meeting the state’s 33 percent target by 2020.

As PG&E’s Solar Choice program develops, the solar energy purchased by customers will be sourced from new solar projects built by developers across PG&E’s service area.
When looking at the company’s entire energy portfolio, more than 58 percent of the electricity that PG&E delivers to its customers comes from greenhouse gas-free resources when including large hydroelectric and nuclear energy.
Geisha Williams, president, PG&E Electric, said she is proud of the company’s track record as a clean energy leader and this latest achievement.
“The clean energy transformation that began with energy efficiency programs in the 1970s has made quantum leaps through new technologies like solar and wind energy, which are part of the green power we deliver to our customers every day,” Williams said. “We’ve made great progress on renewable energy and we aren’t done yet. We stand ready to help Governor Brown deliver on the new goal of 50 percent renewables by 2030 because we want to demonstrate to other states that a clean energy future is achievable, and essential for future generations.”
PG&E delivers a renewable power mix of solar, wind, geothermal, bio-power and small, eligible-renewable hydroelectric energy. That diverse portfolio has helped PG&E achieve a carbon emissions rate that is two-thirds cleaner than the national utility average. The company also leads the nation in having connected more than 215,000 customers with rooftop solar to the grid.
PG&E is expanding its clean energy portfolio as large renewable energy projects come on line after years of development, and PG&E customers are enjoying a surge of greener electricity. The company’s new Solar Choice offering gives customers the option to lower their carbon footprint and purchase 50 percent or 100 percent of their electricity from solar power, without the need to install panels.
Also, PG&E has been named one of the nation’s greenest utilities in the annual Global Top 100 ranking by Energy Intelligence’s New Energy. The rankings are based on carbon emissions and renewable energy.
Late last year, the company signed on to a White House initiative aimed at rallying U.S. businesses around the need to take action on climate change, and joined Gov. Jerry Brown and the California delegation at the United Nations’ climate talks in Paris.